It turns out that a lot of people haven't been paying attention. Over the weekend, a story about how Microsoft is earning more from HTC's Android devices than from its own Windows Phone 7 sales spread all across the web, with surprised reactions everywhere. Anyone who has been paying attention to Microsoft's recent patent trolling regarding Android could've seen this coming.

MS might make more per unit sold with WP7, but they also had to pay to develop and market the software, a cost they don't have with HTC android handsets.

The whole theory of patents rests on the opposite. MS had to pay to invest in smartphone OS development, including abstract ideas, concepts, and techniques. When handset manufacturers take those without paying, it distorts the market and discourages new investment into new approaches. The real question is what those things are worth.